The Bihar government has taken a major initiative to provide electricity for irrigation of fields. The initiative of the state government to provide electricity from solar energy has brought smiles back on the faces of farmers worried about irrigation of fields. Providing cheap electricity to farmers is the priority of the government.
The result of all the efforts of the government is also visible on the ground. The situation is that the state government is providing electricity to all the farmers for agricultural work from dedicated feeders. Electricity will now be provided to farmers from solar energy.
In the third phase of the scheme, 1200 MW of electricity will be provided to agricultural feeders through solar plants. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has underlined the importance of renewable energy on many occasions. It has been said that the coal reserves are also shrinking.
Coal-based electricity will keep getting expensive but renewable energy is never going to end, renewable energy is the real electricity. The energy obtained from this will be cheap and sustainable. To provide cheap electricity to farmers, the government has adopted renewable energy as an option.
5.5 lakh farmers got a connection
So far, 5 lakh 55 thousand farmers have been given electricity connections from the agricultural feeders of the state under the Chief Minister Agricultural Pump Electricity Connection Scheme. The remaining farmers will be given connections by the end of this year.
1235 feeders installed in the first phase
Under the scheme to provide electricity to farmers for agricultural work, 1235 dedicated feeders have been installed in the state under the first phase. In this, tender has been invited for the selection of a developer of 800 MW.
After getting approval from the Exchange Commission, three agencies have been contracted to develop 17.85 MW energy for the cellularization of 8 feeders of 5 power substations. Tender has been invited for the second phase of the scheme. In this, 3681 agricultural feeders of 1121 sub-stations will be energized through 1600 MW solar energy plant.
Electricity is 10 times cheaper than diesel
The state government is giving more than 92 percent subsidy on electricity bills to farmers. It is more than 10 times cheaper than diesel. Free electricity connection will be given to the farmers of the state for irrigation.